Mya

Then & Now

Three years ago today we adopted our little princess! She has enriched our lives immeasurably with her love, her kisses, her spunk, and her very own style. Mya is like no other dog that we have ever owned. She loves everyone, even after her rough beginning.

In April 2010 Mya gave birth to a litter of puppies, probably at the hands of a puppy mill or backyard breeder. Our best guess is that the puppies were stillborn, so they no longer had any need for Mya and tossed her in a creek in Missouri. Luckily, some workers saw her and fished her out. She was covered in fleas and ticks and had a severe case of mastitis. It took two weeks to get her healthy enough to travel to Omaha. Once she arrived here, it took another month to get her healthy enough for her spay. By then, we had all fallen in love with her, and our foster dog became a permanent member of our family!

Happy Gotcha Day, Mya --- we love you so much!

Wordless Wednesday

Memorial Day

Aziza

This is why I hate puppy mills and backyard breeders. They breed with no education or concern about genetics or what they are doing. When two merle dogs are bred, the majority of the offspring have genetic defects. No problem for the puppy mill, they just dump the rejects off to be euthanized. 

This little 8 week old female Australian shepherd puppy was scheduled to be euthanized yesterday. She needs a $3000 surgery, and no way was the puppy mill going to spend that much money on her. Well, guess what --- Hands, Hearts & Paws is going to save her from death and is going to get her the help she needs!

BTW, we've named her Aziza, which means "cherished".

SAD UPDATE: and further proof of why I hate puppy mills so much. The breeder found out that this puppy had not been euthanized and insisted that it be done on the spot. RIP sweet Aziza, we tried very hard to save you, and I'm so sorry that we failed.

Another Painted Shirt

This shirt was painted for my mom, and these are her favorite colors. It's a 100% cotton tunic, and she loved it.

Wordless Wednesday

Velcro

 

 

Many of you will remember Velcro, the scared puppy that arrived in rescue in a taped up cardboard box. He was labeled "vicious" and "feral". We didn't know what to expect when we opened the box, and we were prepared for a dog to come charging at us with his teeth bared. Instead a scared puppy crept out of the box. Fast forward a year later, and this is Velcro, all grown up and stunningly handsome! He still remembered us and gave us kisses and tail wags!

Painting Shirts

A fiber art group that I belong to ordered plain shirts with the logo printed on them in black. The shirts really seemed boring for a group of artists, so yesterday I jazzed mine up with some paint. I really like it now, and it seems more fitting for an art group. 

Noah

Noah with his new haircut

Noah is the baby of our family. He spent the first year of his life in a horrible puppy mill that was subsequently shut down. He was one of 8 yorkies that came into rescue from that puppy mill, and he was one of the last ones to be adopted. I fostered several of the others, all the while waiting for someone to adopt little Noah. A month and a half later, no one had adopted him, and I couldn't resist his charms any longer. We have had him for 8 months now, and although we still have challenges with him, he makes me laugh every single day. No matter what, he is thrilled to see me, and he practically turns inside out with sheer joy! A friend's daughter has nicknamed him "Happy Feet", and it suits him. I am so in love with him!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope all of the mothers and grandmothers that are reading this have a wonderful day filled with love and family!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday